After quietly marrying robotics company CEO, Tasha McCauley, this January, the actor managed a media coup d'état, so to speak, that any modern day Hollywood heavyweight would be proud of: Announcing the birth of his son before any members of the press even knew the newlyweds were expecting. And onLive! with Kelly and Michaelyesterday,the star ofThe Walk— a Robert Zemeckis-directed biopic about high-wire artist Philippe Petit — explained why he plans to continue keeping his child out of the limelight:

"Being in the public eye for me is a great thing. It allows me to do what I love to do, which is act in movies, but it's a choice I made," Gordon-Levitt explained. "I decided to have a career in show business, so I'm in the public eye, people know my name and know my face — and that has it's upsides and honestly some downsides," he continues, laughing. "My son, he's just a baby. He hasn't made the choice to be in the public eye, and that's a choice I'd like him to be able to make when he's older...For now, I'm just a protective dad, and I want to protect his privacy."